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District approves multiple special-education contracts, including ABA services and psychologists
Summary
The committee approved RFP awards for ABA programs (Constellations) and several related-services contracts (school psychologists, bilingual psychologist, speech, OT and PT) to address vacancies and maintain in-district services; motions included several five‑ and six‑figure annual amounts.
The board approved several contracts to expand and stabilize special-education services for FY27 after staff detailed RFP results and staffing needs.
Special-education administrators recommended awarding an out-of-district ABA staffing and management contract for the McCarthy alternative program to Constellations at a cost not to exceed $1,150,436 and a separate in-district self-contained ABA contract for elementary intensive classrooms to Constellations at a cost not to exceed $2,399,698; both motions passed on voice votes. Administrators said the vendors were the lowest responsive bidders and that these services are intended to provide consistent staffing and reduce higher-cost out-of-district placements.
Related-services contracts approved included White Birch for a full-time school psychologist (not to exceed $162,000) and a White Birch APPIC/postdoctoral fellow with supervision (not to exceed $124,032); a three-year contract with LEAP Learning for a full-time bilingual psychologist at $168,750 per year; Champion Speech Therapy for summer speech services at McCarthy (not to exceed $14,033.25); ABC Physical Therapy for FY27 physical therapy services (not to exceed $270,000); and Clark & Associates for occupational therapy (not to exceed $176,522.50). Staff emphasized they have also been hiring psychologists as Nashua employees and that contracted positions help fill persistent vacancies.
Board members pressed staff about the meaning of "self-contained" placements and IDEA obligations; administrators said placements are individualized and that self-contained describes students spending a high percentage of time outside the general-education setting, consistent with federal/state practice.
